We are now able to confirm that 2 pairs of Cattle Egret bred in West Dorset raising 4 young. The best place to view them at the moment is at Modbury Farm (DT6 4NE) in the Bride Valley where there is parking, a public footpath and the egrets feed amongst the Jersey cows.

Modbury Farm is 2 miles up the valley from Burton Bradstock and parking is available on the roadside or through the double gates on the western edge of the farm (please close them again after parking). Do not park near the bee hives - for obvious reasons! The footpath starts by these gates and heads north – the Cattle Egret follow the herd so can be in any of the fields to the left or right up to the top of the hill. Please don’t enter any of the fields, not only are they private but also the egrets will just fly further away.

With thanks to Alan Barrett, Mike Morse, James Phillips and Nick Urch for arranging access and monitoring the birds. Special thanks are also due to Tim and Julie of Modbury Farm who have been very enthusiastic in giving birders the chance to see these birds. With this in mind please observe all on-site instructions and maybe spend a bit of money in the Farm Shop!

We are pleased to announce that at a private site in the county up to 2 pairs of Cattle Egret have successfully fledged 4 young. More details will be published shortly once parking/access arrangements have been organised. This represents the first breeding record for this species in Dorset and the only previous proven breeding in the country was of 2-3 pairs in Somerset in 2008. This year has also seen pairs breeding successfully in Cheshire (up to 3 pairs) and Somerset (5 pairs).